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Sex Workers’ Rights Are Human Rights

No one should ever have to fear going to work every day. No one should have to worry about violence, humiliation, the threat of robbery, or arrest. And yet this is what sex workers in Canada must deal with, despite Canada’s prostitution law that claims to help them by criminalizing only their clients, and assuming that sex workers are all victims.

To recognize and advance the human rights of sex workers, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada supports the full decriminalization of consensual adult sex work.1Our position is based on the best evidence available2and respect for the autonomy and dignity of sex workers.

In addition, we believe that the right to do sex work legally (and as safely as possible) has parallels with the right to legal and safe abortion. Both issues directly involve the rights to life, liberty, security of the person, equality, privacy, and conscience, and in the case of sex work, the right to free expression and association as well. Like abortion, doing sex work is also a matter of choice in most cases, even if it’s a constrained or unhappy choice for many. But when abortion or sex work is criminalized, those affected have even less choice and control –for example, they can be more easily exploited or harmed by unaccountable third parties, putting their lives and health at risk. Just like women who have abortions, sex workers face stigma and judgment and are often shamed and silenced, especially women and transgender workers.

Therefore, ARCC views the support of sex worker rights as an important part of Reproductive Justice and gender equality. Of course, we also want programs and resources to be available to help sex workers transition from the industry if they choose to, and we deplore the lack of options that too often lead disadvantaged and marginalized people to enter sex work. Our society needs to address root causes like poverty, colonialism, drug addiction, homelessness, family neglect and abuse, and other social factors, instead of blaming prostitution itself as a scapegoat.